Matchroom president Barry Hearn has explained why he has returned to football through Brentwood Town FC, where he has set a five-year target of reaching the English Football League and wants to help persuade the council of the need to buy the club’s stadium.

Hearn said he had not missed football since selling Leyton Orient more than a decade ago. “No, not at all. It’s a terrible business. I would never be involved in football. I always said I wouldn’t be involved in football other than Leyton Orient,” he said.

Despite that assessment, Hearn has committed to Brentwood Town for five years and wants the club to become an EFL side by 2031. He said the move is driven by a desire to leave something behind in the community that he and the Matchroom business have called home for years.

“Because we’ve got our head office here, because as a family we lived there for 20-odd years, there’s an affinity towards the area, and I like the way they’re going about things. I like the fact that it’s community-driven,” Hearn told City AM.

“I’m 78 and I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. I want to make sure I’m enjoying every hour I’ve got on God’s earth, simple as that. I saw six games at Brentwood Town last year and they were six very good experiences. We didn’t win them all. I enjoyed the experience. Sport’s been my life for over 50 years. It’s not going to change.

“The ideal plan for me would be that we eventually end up with a team made up of local players, kids that we’ve inspired that have gone on and developed their skills and become an asset to the team itself.

“Making money is great. It’s what you spend it on that really counts, and how you’ll be judged. We look after our family first, and then we look after the community that we came from.

“So, my family’s looked after, I move on to the community, and that puts a smile on my face. And I’m a very selfish person – I like to smile all the time – but that’s all I ask for.”

Hearn says Brentwood Town can reach the EFL in five years

Hearn, who described himself as a “tight bastard”, remains one of the most influential figures in British sport, with interests in boxing, darts and snooker and a business empire valued at about £1bn.

“I like winning – that’s an understatement; I absolutely insist on winning – and we’ll see where we go,” he said of Brentwood Town, who moved up to the Isthmian Premier League last year and are now three promotions away from the EFL.

The club’s current position shows how ambitious that target is: reaching the EFL would require Brentwood Town to keep moving up through the non-league and National League system, with the work on and off the pitch needing to be sustained over several seasons.

“The first phase is promotion from this division. We’re aiming at five years to be a Football League club. Do we achieve it? It’s very unlikely. But where do you set your dreams? Well, we set the bar high, and then we do our best.”

Hearn holds a 20 per cent stake in the club and has also provided a six-figure sponsorship through Matchroom. He said Brentwood Town will need “20-50” other backers from the affluent local area if the project is to progress.

“Equity in non-league football is not something I spend too much time thinking about. Most important is: is the club sustainable? That’s going to require a certain amount of growth from within the club and the potential of other support from outside the club,” he said.

Stadium ownership seen as key to the club’s ambitions

He also said support from local authorities will be important, with Hearn and Brentwood Town viewing ownership of the club’s ground, which is surrounded on three sides by green space, as essential to their plans.

“If we’re going to invest in the ground, which we have to do if we’re successful, it needs to be our property. So we’re going to go to the council, put some pressure on them, and say, ‘Well, are you with us on this journey? Because we’re on it’,” he said.

“People know Brentwood. They know Jez Dickinson, the chairman [and majority owner]. They know that Matchroom’s a major company within this area, and we don’t mess about. So we want to know straight up.

“It’s very early stages, and they don’t want to sell anything. But they’ve got to be educated on the proper way forward, and that may take some time. We’ve got the benefit of new councillors here that we think will understand a little bit more.

“Maybe Brentwood Council won’t understand the bigger picture, but we believe they will. We think they’re sensible, intelligent people, and they will understand that this is for the benefit of everybody.

“Money’s nowhere near a problem. The question is: is it worth the investment? Is it worth the journey? And for that, we need to be successful. I’m a tight bastard. I want value for my money, but I’m a believer if I believe.”